Harmony Art Mom: January 2010

Sunday, January 31, 2010

Creative Process Harmony Art Mom Style

First you have to clean and organize all your supplies. Dust everything off and put everything into its place.

Then you proceed to make a really big mess.

Yes, I am in the middle of a new idea that will combine art and nature study.....for moms.

Hopefully it will be ready for our spring Outdoor Hour Challenges.

Barb-Harmony Art Mom

Friday, January 29, 2010

Weekly Wrap-Up: Skipping the January Blahs this Year

Keeping up with my every other week Wrap-Up posts, here is this edition.

The highlights of the last two weeks include:

Snowboarding

It was a cold but sunny morning!

Aviation Ground School

Mr. A received his flight bag with all his aviation class texts and study guides. He was over the moon excited! He worked probably three hours on homework for his class this week in the evenings...I am very proud of all his efforts.

Getting close to finishing Saxon Algebra 2

Yep, Lesson 122!

Art projects

They worked on more pen sketches and using various pen tips.

Here is another one that Mr. A drew from a photo.

Making a compost bin
I don't have any photos since it is out in the man's shop....but it will look very much like THIS one. I will share it when they finish it in a few days.

Planning a South American meal

We will be making our meal Friday night when everyone can be home to enjoy it.

Mr. B was invited to test drive the new Lego Universe game...how cool is that?

There was sort of a strange sequence of events that led to Mr. B getting an invitation to play the upcoming Lego Universe computer game before it is released as they work out all of the bugs. He has time allotted two times a week that he can log in and play. On a whole, I do not allow my boys to play online games. This is something new to our family and I monitor it very carefully.

We seem to have skipped the January Blahs that hit every year. It wasn't anything we did consciously different, but it might have something to do with keeping busy and moving forward. I also think assessing what was going well and adding in a few new activities at the beginning of the month helped too.

That's the big stuff from this week. I truly cannot believe that it is February.

Barb-Harmony Art Mom

Thursday, January 28, 2010

Sieze the Oportunity

"Many good men and women regret the opportunities in their lives that have slipped through their fingers because of their passiveness. They missed the chance to do some little service or act of courtesy because they didn't notice it in time. It's a good idea to bring children up to feel a certain sense of failure if they miss a chance to relay a message, open a door, carry a package, or do some other small act of kindness that presents itself. They should also learn to seize every opportunity to learn something. It's natural for children to regard every adult they meet as a fountainhead of knowledge about some particular subject. They should be trained so that they never grow out of this inquisitiveness. Success in life depends to a large extent on how alert they are at seizing opportunities, and this skill belongs to the category of physical habits. Opportunity is often symbolized as a figure flying by so fast that there's no way to catch it except by grabbing its forelock as it approaches."
Charlotte Mason in Modern English, Volume 3 page 108-109

Thought provoking quotes from Charlotte Mason always leave me pondering her ideas, prodding me to stretch my teaching skills. This one is no different.

I have one son who is very good at "seizing opportunities" but I am not sure how I encouraged that trait in him or if he just naturally has a sense of alertness to opportunities when they come up.

I will continue to ponder.

Painting above is a Caspar David Friedrich, Der Watzmann. Wikimedia Commons. This is my desktop image this week chosen by Mr. A.

Tuesday, January 26, 2010

Sketch Tuesday: Carnation, Lily, Lily, Rose

Last week our assignment was to sketch something from your trash can. My family raised their eyebrows at this assignment but then they did a really good job.

Here is your slideshow: Trash Time

After my post the other day on art reproductions, I decided we would do a little art copywork for Sketch Tuesday. We have done some of these in the past and they have always turned out wonderfully.

(See art reproduction link above for links to the previous Sketch Tuesday assignments with art copywork.)

I chose a painting by John Singer Sargent since he is the Ambleside Online artist for this term.

This week's assignment, due Monday, February 1st, 2010: Carnation, Lily, Lily, Rose. Complete a picture study of the painting and make a reproduction.

Here is your painting.

Carnation, Lily, Lily, Rose by John Singer Sargent-Wikimedia Commons

Here's one way you can complete this sketch assignment.

1. View the painting. You can view it on your computer screen or right click the image and print it out for your art journal. I prefer this link to view: LINK. (There is also the story of how the painting was made...interesting to me.)
2. Spend a few minutes quietly looking at the image.
3. Have your child tell you what they see in the painting. I always let my boys tell me what they see first without any prompting. If they seem to have trouble getting started, I ask them to give me a list of nouns....boys are very concrete. I know when they were younger they liked to tell me what the story was for the painting we were studying. There are no right or wrong answers.
4. Now have them sketch out the painting onto their paper. I always allow my boys to choose whether they want to try to sketch the complete painting or just an interesting part of it for their journal. In this painting, your child may choose to sketch just the flowers, one of the girls holding the lanterns, or perhaps just one side of the painting.
5. It is always optional to add color using their choice: watercolors, markers, crayons, oil pastels, or something else that you have on hand.

Previous Sketch Tuesdays with Art Copywork:
Woman Walking in an Exotic Forest
Monet's Garden

After you make your sketches, send them in to sketchtuesday@yahoo.com. The deadline for this assignment is February 1st for the Tuesday morning slideshow.

If you have any questions, please email me: harmonyfinearts@yahoo.com

Monday, January 25, 2010

My Love for Smooth Jazz

I never thought of myself as a smooth jazz sort of gal until a few years ago. I have come to love the upbeat rhythms and instrumentals of this genre of music.

An artist from my smooth jazz playlist that you might enjoy is Kenny G. I don't necessarily choose all of his songs to listen to as I go about my day but there are a few favorites.

I think this is my top Kenny G selection.

Kenny G playing Baby G.
It is kind of a cheesy slideshow but take a listen to the song selection. Doesn't it cheer you up?

You can download the song from Rhapsody HERE.

Friday, January 22, 2010

Great Reproductions: Another Helpful Lesson in Art Copywork

Mrs_Hugh_Hammersley JS Sargent Wikimedia Commons

Mrs. Hugh Hammersley, John Singer Sargent...Wikimedia Commons

I have been really busy lately with so many projects but during that time I have been mulling over some ideas about art and art reproduction. Most people today use art reproduction as part of their picture study as outlined in the Charlotte Mason volumes. I know that I would have loved to have some specific direction when we were first starting out so here is my attempt to give you a post with some ideas to get the ball rolling if you haven't tried this activity yet.

I have written several blog entries in the past that talked a little bit about this idea:

We actually used the concept of art copywork to complete a few Sketch Tuesdays:

Jungle Painting- Make sure to click the slideshow to see how other children completed this assignment. This will show how even though we all looked at the same painting, we each had our own individual way of reproducing it.
Monet's Garden Slideshow

My children have always done art copywork as part of their picture study, even when they were very young. As high schooler students, they continue to develop their own style, but we also include reproducing great works of art as part of their art appreciation courses. You can look on the right sidebar of my blog and see some of their work for various artists.

I found that art reproduction is incorporated into some of the lessons in the Great American Artists for Kids by MaryAnn Kohl and Kim Solga. (Many of you are familiar with the Discovering Great Artists book by the same authors and the GAA book is similar in format and style.)

I am especially interested in finding lesson plans that my high school age boys can use in their study of more modern artists. My attention was drawn to the lesson on John Singer Sargent (page 31).

This lesson is a fine example of how to use the idea of reproducing a painting with a few simple steps. Here is how we completed the lesson and you can actually apply the idea to any artist or painting style.

Robert_Louis_Stevenson_by_Sargent Wikimedia Commons

Robert Louis Stevenson, John Singer Sargent...Wikimedia Commons

1. Find a painting by John Singer Sargent. (We used this LINK.)

2. Sketch the shapes you see in the painting using a light touch. Hint: Sometimes it helps to put the print upside down and sketch it that way. When you do this, it tends to trick your eye into seeing the shapes better. Of course, you can not do that if you are working from a computer screen but it works well if you print the image out to sketch from.

Mr. B used markers to color in the light and dark spots first in the painting.

3. Using your choice of art supply, finish coloring in your artwork.
4. Optional: Wait a few days and then reproduce the painting again from memory.

The lesson in the Great American Artists book suggests using thick, smooth outlines of your light sketch and then color it in like a coloring book. I like this idea as well and we may try it with a different artist later this year.

This lesson is rated with two stars in the book which means they suggest it for artists with some experience and moderate skill. I think young artists can benefit from this activity with a little extra guidance from mom.

I encourage you to try this simple idea with whatever artist you are studying this term. I would love to see what you come up with so leave me a comment with a link and I will visit your blog and enjoy your results.

You may be interested in reading my post: Artist Study with Notebooking Pages

Thursday, January 21, 2010

Updated Review: English From the Roots Up

I just posted an updated review for English From the Roots Up over on Curriculum Choice. It is our alternative to a full-blown Latin program.

I don't think I linked over to Curriculum Choice for my last review either. That one was a review of the program Linguistic Development through Poetry Memorization. This one is a little talked about curricula that I highly recommend for children of all ages.

I am not a professional reviewer. Both of the programs listed above I purchased long before I started reviewing for Curriculum Choice. I always mention if I have received an item for free in the review if that is the case. My purpose in writing reviews is to help other moms make informed choices or to introduce a product that I have found useful in my family.

Keep those thoughts in mind whenever you read a review from me. :)

Barb-Harmony Art Mom

Tuesday, January 19, 2010

Sketch Tuesday: Trash Time

Last week's assignment was to sketch something made of leather. I always love the variety of ideas there are for each assignment.

Here is your slideshow: Something Made of Leather

This week's assignment, due Monday, January 25th: Something from your trash can.

Make your sketches and then send them in to: sketchtuesday@yahoo.com. The deadline is Monday, January 25th. Everyone is welcome to sketch.

This should be interesting.
Barb-Harmony Art Mom

Monday, January 18, 2010

Keeping My Eyes Forward, Trying to Have No Curriculum Regrets

I have had a lot of email in the past few months asking me specifics about my homeschooling program for my children when they were younger. Several have asked what particular curriculum choices did I make when I was starting out.

Crazy as it seems, I think I used a lot of the wrong materials with my children. I know with my two oldest, I bored them a lot more than I did the younger two. The choices fifteen years ago were so different and more narrow that I had to sort of stick with "the best I could do" and make it work. The librarians at our public library knew us on a first name basis.

I didn't even own a computer or have internet capability when I first started homeschooling. The only non-public school texts I had ever seen were from Abeka. I hadn't heard about Charlotte Mason or Susan Wise Bauer since those ladies came into my life a few short years ago.

It was just one step above "winging it" now that I am looking back on it all.

Honestly, finding Sonlight was the first step to switching over to a style of homeschooling that fit our family and that wasn't until child number three.

So although none of my children died from my lack of really good curriculum in their very youngest of years, I would totally do things differently now that I have access to so many awesome resources.

I would really love to dazzle you with my great insights into grammar level books and curricula, but I honestly do not have much to draw from. I have spent oodles of time researching, using, and teaching other young children art and art appreciation from the books I include in Harmony Fine Arts so I am confident about resources for those subjects. As far as the other subjects, I have just moved on and not thought too much about all the wonderful plans and curricula available now for young ones.

Barb-Harmony Art Mom

Friday, January 15, 2010

Quick Post: Winners of Prismacolor Pen Sets

Giveaway Winners!

Prismacolor Premier Chisel Tip Marker Set: Mamalion

Prismacolor Premier Brush Tip Marker Set: Frances from Poindexter Academy

I also wanted to thank all of you who left comments to enter the giveaway...it was nice to "see" who some of my readers are these days.

Barb-Harmony Art Mom

Weekly Wrap-Up: Japan And China

This is really a two week wrap-up since I cannot seem to get my act together to write a post every week. I always am surprised at how much I can write about our weekly work since it seems so relaxed around here..not at all like it appears when I type it all out. I know many of you read my blog and think that we are pretty hard-core schoolers but if you came and sat in my house on a weekday you would realize that my boys would be whistling and working and just generally getting business done. We have our moments...but moments they are and just like other kinds of moments, they pass. There are always days that things don't go exactly as planned but after thirteen+ years of homeschooling, I have learned that it all evens out.

For instance, we took time this morning out of our regular schedule to talk about and pray a little for the people of Haiti and the rescue workers as well. Since my husband works for the Office of Emergency Services here in California we know what is like to be on the rescue end of a disaster. We also then turned our thoughts to our own family's disaster preparedness since we live in earthquake country. It spurred my husband to make a list of items we need and he is now off to gather the items from around town to store in a place we can get to them if needed.

Homeschooling is a way of life in our home and it happens 24/7.

Now to the last two weeks....

We have made a renewed effort to keep up with our endeavors to try a dish or a meal from the country we are focusing on each week. This last week we were studying Japan and I made broccoli beef and rice. Yummy....way better than I thought it was going to be. We will probably keep this on our monthly menu list since everyone enjoyed the meal. I added water chestnuts to the dish when I was stir frying it up which were a big hit with all the boys.

We also had received some Japanese candy and gifts from a new friend that we tested out as well. Chopsticks were attempted by most of us...some more successfully than others. :) My boys shared some of their insights this week after reading their Material World pages and the Hungry Planet book.

This week we are focusing on China and we will be going out to eat at our favorite Chinese food restaurant. We are determined to try something new as well as our old favorites.

Renoir, Doges Palace Venice. Wikimedia Commons.

The boys started there next six-week term for artist and composer study. Mr. B is going to study Renoir and Ralph Vaughn Williams. Mr. A is going to focus on Caspar David Friedrich and Tchaikovsky. I love this year's artist and composer plans because I get to see them excited about picking their own ways to study and the order in which they study the list. (Plans are available free HERE.) The painting above is what Mr. B put on my computer's desktop for us both to enjoy this week. Lovely.

Physics this week involved ping pong balls....need I say more?

Algebra 2 is making my head hurt for the very first time this year. Logarithms and antilogarithms must not be something that I learned to any great extent because the well seems to be dry on this concept. I probably learned it for the class and exam and then promptly forgot it.

Snowboarding this week was canceled because of the weather but we hope to go next week to make up for it. We did take two hikes when the weather was decent and it felt good to get out and see the beauty of winter. You can read about our nature study HERE and HERE.

We are reading Uncle Tom's Cabin over the next six weeks (I doubled the TOG time allotment of three weeks) and we got started focusing on writing about each character as they came up in the story. This is a very loose plan and a way for the boys to narrate using a simple chart with the character's name in one column and their thoughts about each character and their connections in another column. They sometimes will write quotes from the book as part of their character study as well. We discuss their notes on Fridays at our weekly meeting.

I am finding that my boys will casually narrate after each reading of this heavy book. They need to talk about the issues of slavery and abolition. They want to reconcile how one human can treat another human so terribly. Our discussion last week centered around modern day slavery that still exists in other cultures and countries. High school can be sort of touchy when we get into more adult topics. These are really important things that I am so glad that I am able to discuss and reason on with my children. If they were in public school, we would not have as many opportunities to share our thoughts, emotions, and beliefs. I love having insight into their hearts as well.

We decided that as part of our practice in writing a research report, we would stick to the overall topic of the Civil War. Since we are opting out of a full-blown study of the Civil War this year in favor of our World Geography study, we are going to learn about the Civil War through the back door. I gave them the flexibility to pick their own Civil War topic to research over the next few weeks. They will research and then write using IEW's unit six.
Mr. A is going to focus on the Ironclads and Mr. B is researching the role of the railroads in the Civil War. They are required to use three sources of information for their reports, make an outline, write their first draft with specific areas for me to look for using the writing rubric in IEW, and then to edit and polish the final project. Last week they did some preliminary research and then started listing possible topics. This week they are narrowing their topics and picking three areas to focus on for their report. They will read their sources both during our school day and on their own time. We are making a trip to the public library this week to pick up books they have requested as part of their research.

Why can't he just keep flying this kind of plane for a little while longer?

Mr. A started ground school this week. He is learning to fly an airplane. I am very excited for him but nervous at the same time. How can he be learning to drive a car and an airplane at the same time? It is a little overwhelming to me but a dream coming true for him. Sigh. It is going to be a lot of really hard work to get through this class....three hours of class each week and then lots of homework. He is determined and grateful for the opportunity that opened up to him to take the class for free. I will keep you posted on his progress.

I will wrap up this Weekly Wrap-Up at this point. Sorry it is so long again but it really is helpful to keep a record of their work. It helps me to keep motivated as well when I see all the things we have accomplished. Sidenote: Someone asked me in a comment not long ago how long our school day is. Basically, we start at 7:45 AM and end around 2:00 PM. The boys are free to take breaks as needed and they usually take a short break around 10:30 and then again at 12:30 for lunch. After their scheduled school day they are free to explore projects and activities that usually relate to their interests.

Barb-Harmony Art Mom

Thursday, January 14, 2010

Charlotte Mason Style Exams-Resources

Breton Village in the Snow, Paul Gauguin. Wikimedia Commons.

After writing my latest post on Charlotte Mason style exams, I received several emails and comments asking how I come up with my exam questions. It has taken me a few years to develop a good sense of just how much is enough to ask on these exams and there are some resources that have helped me tremendously.

First of all, in the Charlotte Mason volumes you will find lots of actual term exam questions that were used in the CM schools. These of course are the best sources of ideas since they were what was actually practiced at that time. The concepts are easily applied to any books and materials you have covered in your own homeschool plans if you look at it from the right angle. Read this section in Volume 3: Appendix Two and perhaps this section in Volume 6: Section Three.

You will find lots of great food for thought on Ambleside Online as well. Here is a link to their Thoughts on Examinations. You can also find a whole list of Sample Exam Questions.

I commented on the exam post that we need to remember that a Charlotte Mason style exam is going to allow the child to show what he knows rather than test what he doesn't know. In the beginning when I was trying to put together our term exams, I had a hard time remembering that concept. Now I remind myself that even my high schoolers like to shine and to share what they know about topics that interest them. I include a variety of activities for the boys to perform during their exams: displays, recitations, drama, artwork, poetry, writing pieces, and oral narrations. I make sure that the exam is not all done with pencil and paper.

More Ideas
Another gold mine of practical ideas and suggestions for term exams is found on lindafay's website, Charlotte Mason Help. You will find her listing for examinations HERE.

You can also join the Yahoo Group that files lots of real examples of Charlotte Mason style exam questions to go along with Ambleside Online plans. AOExams.

Simple Charlotte Mason has two excellent articles: End of Term Exams in the Charlotte Mason Method and also How Much Does My Child Remember?

Hopefully you can glean some good ideas for your own Charlotte Mason style term exams from the resources in this post. If you have any resources you use that I don't have listed, please leave me a comment and let me know.....I am always refining my process.

Barb-Harmony Art Mom

Wednesday, January 13, 2010

11th Grade Free Reading List-Updated

I just updated my 11th Grade Squidoo lens to show our free reading list from this year.
Harmony Art Mom's 11th Grade-Eclectic Mix
You will need to scroll down the lens until you see Free Reading List #1 and then #2.

What are my free reading lists?
I take some of the books that I think are worthwhile but we can't fit them into our daily schedule and make them into "free reading" that they can do during their afternoons, evenings, weekends, or over breaks in school. This has been a great help in allowing them to read and enjoy some books without a lot of analysis or discussion. They can narrate if they want to or sometimes I have them write a few sentences about the reading for me to read.

I also have a three chapter rule. If after reading three chapters they just can't get into a certain book, they are allowed to come to me and ask to be excused from that particular book. They are allowed two books to pass on during the year. I will then find something to substitute in for the book they choose to skip. Last year they both skipped Rob Roy and this year they have not asked to skip any books at all yet. I feel like this policy helps give them some control but still keeps them accountable.

Every family can have their own list of books that fits their particular children and interests. I love the freedom this has given me to include books that we would otherwise not have time for in any way during our regular school hours. As the boys have grown up, it gets harder and harder for them to pick books to read for fun. The choices for teens are generally horrible. This way they have a list to draw from and I know they are getting a taste of some books they might not otherwise pick up on their own.

Barb-Harmony Art Mom

Tuesday, January 12, 2010

Sketch Tuesday: Leather

Last week's assignment was to sketch something you would find in a pet shop. Wow! Great sketches this week and you are all so creative.

Here is your slideshow: Pet Shop

This week's assignment, due Monday, January 15th:

Sketch something made of leather.

All sketchers are welcome, any age. Please send in your sketches by Monday, January 15th so they can be included in the slideshow on Tuesday morning. Your sketches need to be an image in jpg format. You can send your sketches to: sketchtuesday@yahoo.com

Thank you to all of the families that participate!

Barb-Harmony Art Mom

Monday, January 11, 2010

Prismacolor Pens are Superb! And Another Giveaway!

Back in October I was contacted by the Prismacolor company and asked if I would like to review a set of their Premier Fine, Brush, and Chisel Tip Illustration Markers. Did I hesitate? No way! I have always loved Prismacolor products and thought that our family could give an honest review of these markers to my readers.

The pens arrived in the mail and we were eager to start testing them out in our art journals. They were a perfect fit for our Pen and Ink work and the boys got started right away.

After three months worth of test driving, we are ready to give our review of these markers.

First of all, here are the expressions of my two high school aged artists. Please note that these are now the set of pens they ask for when they start their artwork each week and that says a lot to me about how they like them in comparison to our other sets of pens, mostly Sharpies.

It takes a little while to get used to the different tips, but once you figure out the way each one works they are great tools.
One son loves the ultrafine (size 005) tipped pen and uses it in addition to the brush tip pens in his pen work.
The other son loves all the chisel point pens and uses them in conjunction with the 05 and 03 pens for most of his drawings.
They both like the colored brush point pens to fill in drawings.

Now my thoughts.

I love the feel of most of the pens but like my one son, the ultrafine pens (005 size) are a little hard to use except for stippling or fine detail.
I like my pens to have a little more ink flowing so the larger tips (03 and 05) were better for most of my nature journal work.
I had trouble controlling the brush tips, but I fell in love with the chisel tips for lettering and fill-in work.
I think that the colored pens are a great alternative in my nature journal to watercolors. They give a bold look to the page.
I don't find them to bleed through the pages as much as our other pens, although if you work with the brush tips too much you will get hints of ink on the backside.

Overall, these Prismacolor Premier markers are a great value and give results you can be proud of in your journals and other artwork. I looked for them at Michael's and found the same set that I was given for review at a price I would gladly pay for a quality set of markers. I just received the latest Dick Blick catalog and these sets of pens are on sale for half price!

Guess what? I asked for an extra set of pens to give away on my blog and they sent me two sets. I have one set of colored Chisel Tip Markers and one set of colored Brush Tip Markers to give away to my readers.

To put your name in the hat, please leave a comment on this entry with your name and an email address. I will be holding the drawing Friday, January 15th. The deadline for entries is Noon PST. I will draw two names and contact you at that time.

Barb-Harmony Art Mom

Saturday, January 9, 2010

More Squidoo Lenses from Harmony Art Mom

Who Says High Schoolers Don't Use Crayons?

When I was researching our geography plans last summer, I stumbled across Ellen McHenry's website. What a find! She has so many wonderful projects and plans to download and use right away.

I was interested in the beautiful map of Japan that she shared HERE.

This project is easily accomplished by downloading her map and instructions. My sons used crayons to show the topography of Japan and then used a watercolor wash to finish off the map.

Crayon resist in high school! Gotta love that.

I highly recommend that you pop over to Ellen McHenry's website and see if you can find some projects that might fit your learning this year.

Barb-Harmony Art Mom

Friday, January 8, 2010

Winter Nature Study Ebook Giveaway Winners!

First of all, I want to give my sincere thanks to everyone who has emailed me and commented about the Winter Nature Study ebook and notebooking pages. I am overwhelmed with the kind words and best wishes from everyone for the success of this project.

I always receive back way more than I give and in this instance, I am humbled.

With that said, I will announce the winners of the giveaways!

Winter Nature Study with Art and Music Appreciation ebook=
Diane

Winter Nature Study Notebooking Pages=
1. Dear Abbi

2. Audrey (mommy2bear)

3. Molly

4. Elizabeth Kay P.

5. Goddess in the Groove

I will email you your ebooks and notebook pages right now.

For all of you, I look forward to hearing about your winter nature study experiences. Please feel free to share any of your outdoor experiences on Mr. Linky each Friday. It is very encouraging to everyone who reads to see how many of us are making nature study a priority in our lives.

Also, don't forget to include your art and music appreciation each month. This is something that brings great joy to our family along with the nature study.

Thanks for all your support.
Barb-Harmony Art Mom

Thursday, January 7, 2010

My Book and Music Reviews

Charlotte Mason High School Blog Entries

Harmony Art Mom's 11th Grade Plans and a Review

I wanted to send out a quick email to let you know that I have finished a Squidoo Lens showing all of our plans for our 11th grade year.
Harmony Art Mom's Eclectic 11th Grade Year Plans

I have tried to list out every resource and material with links for you to use as you plan you high school years.

I will keep the link on my sidebar....top left-hand side.

Let me know what you think over on Squidoo once you get there....there is a lot of information there for you to digest.

Hope it helps another family.

I have also posted another review over on Curriculum Choice. This time I wrote a review of the IEW program Linguistic Development through Poetry Memorization. This is a great program for children of all ages.

Barb-Harmony Art Mom

Tuesday, January 5, 2010

Sketch Tuesday: Pet Shop

The assignment for last week was to sketch something you find in a big city. When I think of a big city, I think of tall buildings and apparently many of you do too! There were also some creative sketches as well and I want to thank everyone for their participation.

Here is your slideshow: Big City

This week's assignment, due Monday, January 11th:
Sketch something you find in a pet shop.

All sketchers are welcome to send in their drawings. Please send your sketches to sketchtuesday@yahoo.com by Monday, January 11th and I will include them in Tuesday's slideshow.

Have fun sketching,
Barb-Harmony Art Mom

Monday, January 4, 2010

Tapestry of Grace Posts - Ideas, Resources, Specifics

New Ebook Available and a Giveaway!

I am really excited to announce that I have finished writing a completely new ebook for the Winter Series of Outdoor Hour Challenges. This ebook is a unique product that includes not only ten nature study challenges but three months' worth of art and music appreciation with a winter theme! I wanted to write a separate winter themed art and music appreciation ebook this year but I just ran out of time. This ebook is a combination of all the things that I love in one easy to use place. If you are looking for simple and easy plans for the winter...this is the ebook for your family.

Here is an overview!

10 Winter Series Outdoor Hour Challenges
13 custom notebook pages to complement those challenges
3 different artists to study-one per month (Caspar David Friedrich, Gilbert Stuart, and Claude Monet)
3 different composers to study-one per month (Vivaldi, Waldteufel, and Dvorak)
11 custom notebook pages to use in following up your art and music study
3 paintings included for you to print or view
Ideas for art projects to complete your art appreciation with common art supplies you probably have on hand
Resource list
Clickable links

In total, this new Winter Nature Study ebook is 56 pages long. You will have a complete plan at your fingertips for your winter nature study, art appreciation, and music study. All of the art prints are included in the ebook and there are links to viewing them online as well. All of the music planned is available to listen to online. You will need to have the Handbook of Nature Study in order to complete the nature study challenges. I have aimed to keep these challenges and studies as simple as possible with very few additional resources needed.

Please realize that the challenges will still be offered for free on my blog over the next ten weeks, starting Friday, January 8th. The ebook gathers the challenges all into one easy to use resource along with the custom notebook pages. If you purchase the book now, you will have the complete ten week plan all at one time for you to use as you find time. The notebook pages will *not* be offered on the blog for free this time.

To recap how this all works-

Winter Nature Study with Art and Music Appreciation Ebook: Contains all the challenges, custom notebook pages for nature study as well as art and music appreciation, and three months' worth of art and music appreciation. 56 pages for $8.95.
(This is the complete project and includes all the items listed above in one ebook.)

Winter Series of Outdoor Hour Challenges: Same weekly challenges as in the ebook but available through the blog on Fridays at no charge. There will be no notebook pages offered for free, but you can easily use the generic notebook pages from my sidebar at any time. This is the perfect option for families on a budget who are interested only in nature study.

The winter themed art and music appreciation plans are only available with the Winter Nature Study Ebook above.

Please note that this is the first time you will be paying me directly and I will be emailing you the PDF Ebook. There can up to a 12 hour delay between your payment and my sending the file to your email address. I will endeavor to send the Ebooks as fast as I can but if you order late at night and there is a time difference, it could be as long as 12 hours before you see this wonderful book in your inbox. It is worth the wait.

Giveaway!
I am going to be giving one copy of the Winter Nature Study with Art and Music Appreciation ebook and five copies of the Winter Nature Study Notebook Pages on Friday night. To be eligible to win, please leave your name *and* your email address in a comment on this blog post. Deadline for leaving comments is Friday, January 8th at Noon PST.

If you would like an additional entry, please leave me the link to your blog where you mention this new ebook and the link to this post.

If you do not have a blog, you can spread the word on a bulletin board or a Yahoo group if you would like and then leave me a comment letting me know you do so for an additional entry.

I poured a lot of good ideas into this ebook. I know our family is really looking forward to getting back into the swing of things this week especially in the area of nature study.

I hope to see your around the challenges.....look for the first one this Friday, January 8th!

If you have any questions, please email me or leave a comment.

Barb-Harmony Art Mom

Saturday, January 2, 2010

Famous Composers - Ideas and Resources

Friday, January 1, 2010

Harmony Fine Arts - Customer Reviews

Harmony Fine Arts Ebooks
Ancient Art Reviews on Lulu.com
Medieval and Renaissance Art and Music on Lulu.com

Various Other Reviews
Old Schoolhouse Magazine Review

Curriculum Choice Review

Customer Review on Rainbow Resource

Review by Leslie in TN on The Well-Trained Mind forums

Review by Hope at The Sinister Scribe of Medieval and Renaissance Art

If you have used any of my art plans and would like to share a review, please feel free to send it to me to add to my list. If you purchase an ebook from Lulu.com, you can add your review there. Rainbow Resource also accepts reviews from their customers. If you are interested in receiving a promotional copy of any of my plans in exchange for a review, please contact me at any time. harmonyfinearts@yahoo.com.

Habits of Thought, Habits of Life: No Television

We know that the brain is where habit originates, and that behavior and character are both the result of whatever habits we develop. We also know that an inspiring idea sparks a new habit of thought, and, therefore, a new habit of life. We recognize that education's great work is to inspire children with enlivening ideas in every area of life, every category of knowledge, every subject we think about, and to deliberately help children to develop the habits of good living that come from inspiring ideas.
Charlotte Mason, volume 3, pg 173

Habits are such a tool for each and every one of us. How much easier is it to have good habits in place with our children and for ourselves as well.

Last June, we turned our satellite dish off and that meant that we have had absolutely no television at all since then. Although we did not watch a lot of television before, many times we found ourselves just watching the television and wasting time....a very bad habit. Very few "inspiring ideas" came from television viewing.

After turning it off, we found that none of us really missed it at all. Many of our friends and acquaintances looked at us as if we were crazy when we told them of our decision to eliminate television from our home. Some even asked what we did with our time, as if television was a valuable part of family life.

It was time for some new good habits, to deliberately and intentionally find activities that fit our family's priorities. We made a few changes and were inspired to do more to fill our spiritual needs.

Personal Bible study is a regular part of our Monday evenings now. Each of us takes an hour to work on something spiritual during that time. This habit has brought us all a great measure of happiness and inspired us with much to think about as we go through our week.

Along with that, we replaced the majority of our evenings with things that keep our hands and minds busy. Reading for fun, puzzle solving, handicrafts, long walks, board games, visiting with friends, and just enjoying each other's company have replaced the bad habit of staring at the television. These were all activities we enjoyed before the great television turn-off, but now we had additional time to devote to pursuing other things. New habits take time to develop and over the past six months we have begun to wonder how we fit television viewing into our busy lives.

We do include a DVD as part of our weekend family time. We enjoy our subscription to Netflix which has a practically endless source of upbuilding and entertaining DVDs to choose from. (Currently, our DVD player is on the blink so we have even cut DVD watching out as a family activity.)

So much of our popular culture is fed to us through images in advertisements and it is an added benefit to our family to have cut that flow of influence. Our time is better spent without that pressure to buy things we don't need and to focus more on developing new skills and habits.

Our new habits have enriched our life beyond our expectations.

It has simplified our lives, brought us closer together, and allowed us time to think. We have had more fun, learned new things about each other, and felt spiritually fed. Our sketch books are fuller, we have saved lots of money, and our dog is happier because she gets more frequent long walks. I can honesty say there has been no downside to turning off the satellite service.

If you are even thinking about turning your television off, I highly recommend giving it a try. You may be surprised at how easy it is for your children to switch over and build some new habits. I have convinced myself and hope that our experience will inspire your family.

Barb-Harmony Art Mom

Harmony Art Mom shares a glimpse into a real homeschooling family that values the arts as well as academics. I share my passion for the fine arts and hope to motivate and inspire other homeschoolers to balance their homeschool day with some art and music too. To help other busy moms get started, I have developed affordable Harmony Fine Arts plans written in the Classical/Charlotte Mason style.

You can find me over on my Handbook of Nature Study blog any time you want to find some inspiration for nature study and to find my nature study ebooks.

New Harmony Fine Arts Grade 1 plans now available. Read about a sample week in this blog entry: HFA Grade One. Make sure to read this entry about acquiring the Oxford First Book of Art.

New Harmony Fine Arts Grade 2 Plans Available As An Ebook! View a sample week in action here on my blog: Harmony Fine Arts Grade 2 Sample Week.

New Harmony Fine Arts Grade 3 plans available as an ebook or print.

New Harmony Fine Arts Grade 4 plans available as an ebook or in print.

Harmony Fine Arts Ancient Art and the Orchestra plans are only available in the ebook version at this time.

Harmony Fine Arts Medieval and Renaissance - Middle School plans are available only in the ebook version at this time.

New Harmony Fine Arts Grade 7 plans are available as an ebook or in print.

New Harmony Fine Arts Grade 8 Plans available now in ebook or in print editions.

Harmony Fine Arts High School Level Art and Music plans are available on the Harmony Fine Arts website. All music plans are free and Grade 12 art plans are free.

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